When the Arab Spring broke out in 2011, Americans had the sense they'd seen this movie before - and liked it. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, countries from South Korea to Czechoslovakia abruptly threw off repressive regimes and embraced freedom. Now it was the turn of the people of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries to join the democratic parade. The part that involved bringing down dictators went surprisingly well. Tunisia, where the movement began after a fruit vendor set himself on fire to protest police abuse, saw a popular uprising that quickly drove strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into exile.

* Arabs fret at delay of Middle East meeting on nuclear arms * Israeli envoy says "atmosphere" not right for conference By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA, July 9 (Reuters) - Arab diplomats signalled on Tuesday they would seek to step up pressure on Israel over its assumed nuclear arsenal but the Jewish state said any attempt to "bash" it would be counterproductive. Arab countries, angry at the lack of movement in efforts to move towards a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, have served notice they plan to target Israel for criticism at the U.N. atomic agency's annual member state gathering in September.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Corruption has worsened in most Arab countries since their 2011 revolutions, even though anger with corrupt officials was a major reason for the uprisings, according to a public opinion poll released on Tuesday. The survey by Transparency International, a global non-governmental body which studies bribery around the world, appears to dash hopes that the Arab Spring would produce cleaner government and business in the region. The Arab public's continued frustration with corruption may undermine governments' efforts to restore political stability, while hindering economic growth and foreign investment.

DUBAI (Reuters) - A 75-year-old Palestinian businessman is on a $10 million mission to boost Arabic on the Internet, where it accounts for less than 1 percent of websites despite being spoken by one in 20 people worldwide. If Talal Abu Ghazaleh, owner of the education and professional services firm Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org), has his way, the end of this year will see the launch of Tagipedia, a free online Arabic encyclopedia with a million entries. "I see it as a means of building an Arab knowledge society, which is my mission in life ... to contribute to the economic and social development of the Arab world," he told Reuters.

* Silence reflects importance of Egypt for Gulf security * Most GCC states mistrust Brotherhood but worried about Egypt * Questions rising Qatar's stand after leadership change By Sami Aboudi and Angus McDowall DUBAI/RIYADH, July 3 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab rulers are resisting the temptation to gloat in public about the political woes of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, a group most of them mistrust, for fear of deepening unrest in a country that remains a potential ally in their standoff with Iran.